What bettors need to know: Cowboys at Bills

The Buffalo Bills fired Wade Phillips as their head coach back in 2000. Now he returns to upstate New York as coach of the unbeaten Dallas Cowboys. Phillips is hoping to lead the Cowboys to their first 5-0 start in 24 years with a win over his former team.

"Well, you know, it's not another game, I guess," Phillips told USA Today when asked about his return to Buffalo. "I have great memories there and all the people there I consider friends."

He also joked around with the media when asked what he thought of the Bills’ decision to fire him after an 8-8 season in 2000. “I believe (New England coach) Bill Belichick was 5-11 that year,” Phillips said, laughing. “They kept him around. I don't know how he did since then.”

The Bills are 1-3 this season and haven’t made the playoffs since Phillips left the club. They have only had one winning season since then.

Bills start with Edwards again

Rookie quarterback Trent Edwards will make the second start of his NFL career Monday night. He came in for the injured J.P. Losman last week and completed 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards with one touchdown in a 17-14 win over the Jets.

"The hardest part is when things don't go right," Edwards told the Dallas Morning News. "I said this after the game that it seemed like for me the most part everything did kind of go our way."

Things are not as likely to go his way against a Dallas defense that has eight sacks and eight interceptions in its last three games. The Bills are already concerned that the Cowboys will blitz more than usual to knock the inexperienced Edwards off his game.

"They are going to try to show [Edwards] some different looks and pressure him,” Bills receiver Lee Evans told the Morning News. “They will make him make some decisions. I definitely expect them to do something like that.”

The Cowboys faced three rookie quarterbacks last season and beat all of them.

Romo’s the real deal

Tony Romo spent three seasons sitting on the Dallas bench before getting his chance last year. He came in for heavy criticism when he lost the final five games of last season, but a 4-0 start this time around has cemented his status as one of the best QBs in the league.

“Anytime you're playing like our quarterback is playing, that's a key factor," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips told USA Today. "I've seen the quick release and great arm, but it's his presence in practice. I've seen a lot of players who were great in practice, but he carries it over to the game."

Romo has a 10-4 record in 14 regular season starts. He’s thrown for 27 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and more than 3,800 yards in his career so far. His 112.9 passer rating this year ranks second only to two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady.

"I never look at myself in the third person," Romo told USA Today. "Each step has been good. As a backup, you're trying to get on the field and get better. When it happens it feels normal. That's what you work yourself up for is to be successful."

Romo has thrown for 1,199 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions in four games this season.

Bills defense gets a boost

The Bills are hoping to get two important defensive players back for the clash with Dallas, the team with the best offense in the NFL.

Linebacker Keith Ellison practiced this week for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in preseason. He expects to play on Monday night.

“It felt pretty good playing on it, so tomorrow we’ll see how sore it is,” Ellison told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “I feel real good about it, but that’s up to the coaching staff and what they decide to do with me. Whatever they ask, I’m going to try as hard as I can. I think I’ll be all right to go out there and play.’’

Defensive end Anthony Hargrove is also eligible to start after serving a four-game suspension for substance abuse. He returned to practice this week and is likely to start because of an injury to fellow defensive end Ryan Denney.

“I want to come out here and show them I can play on Monday night,” Hargrove told reporters.

The Bills defense ranks last in the NFL this season, giving up an average of 430.2 yards and 23.2 points per game.

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hello all......newcomer to the board, first post was last night after finding site yesterday. But did go 4-0 yesterday (Jax, Car/NO U, SD, and Chi) which is honestly quite rare for me in NFL. Tend to have a tougher time in the pros.
This is a great line...seems almost too much to lay on the road. But a few things that have me leaning:
- Buff is dreadful on defense
- Buff is thin at LB
- Buff is missing two starters in the 2ndary, including down to a 3rd stringer at safety
- Buff starts a rook at QB (though he did look good......but this is they best D he has seen).
I agree the Boys aren't world beaters yet, but I don't think they need to be to cover this number. My only fear is do they get caught looking ahead to next week's game w NE? I don't think they will.....#'s were Dall - 10.5 and Total of 45.5 Can anyone see Vega$ thinking Dallas 28-17??? I think Dallas wins by 14 or more....but wary of the backdoor cover.
Small play on Dallas, will cut and run with earnings in tact and wait for next weekend.
Good hunting to all.......let's make some $$!

i'm calling unexpected snow storm tonight, 18 inches of snow to fall on buffalo, caused by lake effect, focused solely and isolated on the city of buffalo, this exact snow storm hit buffalo last october, swear to god, completely randomnly, i happened to be there on a business meeting on the one very day of the year it decided to attack the city, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN ALL OVER AGAIN TONIGHT PEOPLE!!!!!!!!
TAKE THE UNDER!!!!!!!
hahahahha, all jokes aside, i like dallas on the easy cover
ps. oh and my gf likes the bills based off of colors of uniform, she says ride the 10 HARDDDDD!!!!!!!!! (smile)

profit i would like to bet four g's on tonight's nfl game.
over or under what parlays do you like? just got put onto you
through a friend. your bets are very profitng.didn't like the denver game .but
good pick on washington and carolina.

Brook,
Tonight Yanks, yanks -1.5 yanks steep at -220 see this going 5. the bats lit up against west and should continue against Byrd. Wang will get sinker back on track and keep tribe in check. not sure is one or both for yanks. like I said laying 220 is tough.
Bills I think it will move to 10.5 great. This is the nfl. You saw the pats look ahead and if wasnt for that late fumble td the browns wouldve covered/push. Phillips eats buff wings and bills ride the home crowd to a cover.
yankee stadium should be rocking... take it from a Fordham Rd. guy...

"Which cowboys will show up? Will wade phillips take it easy on bills since he was the coach that got fire? Will cowboys play run and not show New England the game plan for next weekend? The big showdown next week. I guess cowboys will beat the bil..."

With playoff implications on the line, expect tight, low-scoring game between these two teams with hot goaltenders...

My free play is on Florida/Boston Under at 7:00 ET.

Boston has rebounded from a six-game losing streak by winning two games in a row after its 2-1 win in Carolina on Sunday. The Bruins return home where the Bruins are holding their opponents to only 2.3 goals per game which is a bit better than their 2.6 goals per game that they are giving up overall this season. Much of this improved play keeping the puck out of the net needs to be credited to goaltender Tuukka Rask who has been outstanding in front of his home fans this season. Rask owns a strong 2.04 goals against average along with a sizzling .930 save percentage when at home. The Bruins are clinging to the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt three points ahead of Ottawa and four points ahead of this Panthers team so the stakes remain very high for this veteran team. Rask may very well be playing his better goaltending at this point of the season as well. In his previous 12 starts this month, Rask has a 2.15 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage.

Florida has won four of its last six games as the Panthers make a late push to make the playoffs with their 4-2 win in Ottawa on Sunday. The Panthers stay on the road for this contest where they have seen the under go 7-3-3 in their last 13 contests away from home. The under is also 9-2-1 in their last 12 trips to Boston to face their Atlantic Division rivals. Florida's improved play as of late has much to do with the team’s improved play on defense as Florida is allowing only 2.2 goals per game over the last five games which is a significant improvement over its 2.7 goals per game seasonal average. Goaltender Roberto Luongo shook off a slow start this season to be the goalie the Panthers were hoping he would be when acquiring him in the offseason. Luongo has a 2.33 goals against average along with a .921 save percentage this year. Luongo has also heated up for Florida's playoff chase late this season as he owns a red hot 1.79 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage in his six starts this month. With playoff implications on the line, expect tight, low-scoring game between these two teams with hot goaltenders. Take the under.

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